Cards clinging to playoff hopes as they host rookie QB Drake Maye and the Pats

New England (3-10) at Arizona (6-7)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, CBS.

Odds: Cardinals by 6.

Against the spread: Patriots 5-7-1; Cardinals 8-5.

Series record: Patriots lead 9-7.

Last meeting: Patriots beat Cardinals 27-13 on Dec. 12, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona.

Last week: Colts beat the Patriots 25-24 on Dec. 1; Cardinals lost to Seahawks 30-18.

Patriots offense: overall (31), rush (13), pass (32), scoring (31)

Patriots defense: overall (19), rush (20), pass (14) scoring (20)

Cardinals offense: overall (12), rush (6), pass (22), scoring (18)

Cardinals defense: overall (20), rush (18), pass (18), scoring (13)

Turnover differential: Patriots minus-6; Cardinals minus-3

Patriots player to watch

QB Drake Maye. He ranks third among NFL rookie quarterbacks with 345 rushing yards. He is averaging 9.1 yards per rush (38 attempts). The highest rushing average for an NFL quarterback in a single season is 8.5 yards by Michael Vick in 2006 when he had 123 rushing attempts for 1,039 rushing yards with Atlanta.

Cardinals players to watch

S Budda Baker. The 28-year-old is having one of the best seasons of his eight-year career and is among the biggest reasons the Cardinals defense has been better than expected for most of the season. He was everywhere in last week's game against the Seahawks, finishing with 18 tackles.

Key matchup

Maye vs. the Cardinals defense. The Patriots quarterback is putting together a promising debut season and has thrown for at least 220 yards over his past three games while also providing a consistent threat in the run game. The Cardinals defense is trying to bounce back after giving up 409 yards to Seattle in last week's loss.

Key injuries

Patriots CB Marcus Jones sat out the first practice of the week dealing with an illness. ... Cardinals TE Trey McBride (knee) and DL Roy Lopez (ankle) were among the players limited at practice early in the week.

Series notes

The Patriots have won the past three matchups and eight of the past nine.

Stats and stuff

The Patriots are coming off a season-high 200 rushing yards and 422 yards against Indianapolis on Dec. 1. They haven’t rushed for 200 yards in back-to-back games since 2012. ... The Patriots scored on their first four offensive drives vs. the Colts, the first time that’s happened since they scored on five consecutive drives in a 50-10 win over Jacksonville on Jan. 2, 2021. ... RB Rhamondre Stevenson needs 19 yards this week to become the ninth Patriots player to reach 3,000 yards for his career. ... TE Hunter Henry enters this week with a team-leading 58 receptions for 610 yards. He needs three catches and 43 receiving yards to set career highs. ... DE Deatrich Wise has five sacks on the season and needs 2½ to tie his career high, set in 2022. ... LB Christian Elliss had his first career interception last week. He has a team-leading eight special teams tackles this season. ... CB Marcus Jones is first in the NFL, averaging 15.2 yards per punt return (25 returns for 380 yards). ... The Cardinals have lost three straight games to fall into a tie for last place in the NFC West. ... McBride has caught 31 passes for 299 yards over his past three games. ... QB Kyler Murray faces the Patriots for the first time since 2022, when he tore his ACL against New England in a Monday night game and missed the next 11 months. .... Murray has had two straight games with two interceptions, which is the first time that's happened in his six-year career. ... RB James Conner needs 70 yards rushing this week to move into fifth place on the all-time Cardinals franchise list. ... LB Kyzir White had 13 tackles in last week's loss to the Seahawks. ... The Cardinals rank sixth in the NFL in rushing and have gained at least 120 yards on the ground in nine of 13 games. ... The Cardinals defense had no sacks against the Seahawks last week and hit QB Geno Smith just twice.

Fantasy tip

Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. has been a little inconsistent during his rookie season, but has still caught seven TD passes this season. That ranks first among rookies and sixth among all NFL players entering Week 15.

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